Electric-bell cord



(No Model.)

H. B. COX.

ELECTRIC BELL GOED. l No. 350,293. Patented Oct. 5, 1886.

/lizmmnumm N. PETERS PhnRo-Lilhogrlnher. Washingtun. DA C UNITED STATES PATENT GIFICE,

HARRY B. CCX, or CINCINNATI, CHIC.

ELECTRIC-BELL CORD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 350,293, dated October 5, 1886.

Application led May 1, 1886. `Serial No. 200,853. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY B. COX, of Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric-Bell Cords; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

My invention has relation to automatic Adevices for coupling electric-bell cords between the cars of a railway-train, and has for its object to furnish a device for this purpose by which the two parallel wires may be easily andinstantly coupled together, which connection shall be sufficiently tight for use, but which will permit of the connection being broken by being pulled apart when the cars are uncoupled from each other, either whensuch uncoupling is done purposely or accidentally.

With these. objects in view my invention consists in the vimproved construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, which Ishall now proceed to fully describe, the specific points of novelty in which I shall particularly point out in the claims hereto appended.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of my coupling, two of the rubber, metal, or hard-wood side pieces being removed, the interior arrangement of the parts being outlined in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the lower member, or atop plan. view of the upper member, of my coupling. (Note that the two members are duplicates in construction, and inA all cases a top View of one is a bottom view of the other, and a right hand side view of one is a 1efthand side view of the other. In this description I shall confine myself to the lower member, except when the upper memberis directly specified.) Fig. 8 is a top-plan view. Fig. et is a sectional View taken on thelinexof Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a similar sectional view taken on the line y y of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is an outside View of the metallic portion of one side of my coupling. Fig. 7 is an inside view thereof', and Fig. 8 is a side 'View of the central hard- Wood or rubber central piece of the coupling.

B are the two members of my coupling,shown coupled together in Fig. 1. (The further. description will, as before stated, be confined to the lower member, A, unless special exception f is made, and as the members A and B are duplicates, this description will answer for both.) The -member A is composed of seven distinctive parts-viz., two metallic side pieces, C U, two metal, hard-wood, or rubber lside pieces, D D,'two springs, E E', and a central hard-Wood or rubber separator. or insulator, F. The side pieces G G are provided at their outer ends with outward-curved perforated ears c c, and have side cleats, c c', and ianges c c. The springs E E are hard-soldered and screwed to the metallic side pieces C O, the screws being marked e e. The central separator or insulator, F, rests between the metallic pieces C C', beinginclosed, except a small central portion,by the springs E/E'and Aflanges c c of the metallic side pieces() C', being securedin such position-byscrewsff. The hard-wood or rubber side pieces D Dare rectangular in outline, and are shorter than the metallic side pieces C C., They are secured to said side pieces by screws d d.

vThe parts being secured together, as de-` scribed, there will be formed a completemember, which consists of two complete conducting structures separated and insulated from each other. The two parallel wires G G, which pass through the train, are connected to these members by passing through the perforations in the outward-curved ears c c, and thence around the clip c' c.

When it is desiredto couple the cord,thetwo sections, made up as described, are engaged as shown in Fig. 1, the inner ends of the two members overlapping each other, making two distinct lines of metallic connection completely insulated from each other, 'and these ends are held in such coupled position by the springs E E. In this posit-ion the connection is sufficiently tight for use, but is such that a smart pull will break the connection. The

breaking may be done, when desired, by hand, but should. the cars of a train become uncoupled by accident the connection will be automatically broken, thus giving the alarm IOO to the engineer. The adjoining sides of the metallic side pieces C C are coincidently or correspondingly curved to fit cach other, as shown at c c, and the contact-surfaces of the insulating-pieces F are likewise curved, so as to make a perfect fit between these parts.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isp l. The improved coupling for electric-bell cords,herein described, composed of two members, which arednplicates of each other,each being provided witlra central insulating-block having a projecting tongue with a waved or corrugated surface, 0', two metallic plates, C C', of'sirnilar shape, one upon each side thereof, and two springs, E E', hard-soldered to the edges of said plates, whereby the corrugated tongues or' the two members are held together, bringing the edges ofthe plates GCinto close contact to complete the connectiomas set fort-h.

2. The member A, consisting` of two metaL lic side pieces, C C', each having perforated ears c, cleats c', and flanges c, two springs, E E', and two hard-wood or rubber side pieces, D D', secured to the pieces C C', and a central insulator, F, as set forth. 4

3. In combination with the two parallel wires of an electric-bell cord, a coupling, each member thereof consisting of two side pieces,

' C C', constructed as described, two side pieces, 

